Posted on 02/09/2004 7:12:02 PM PST by ETERNAL WARMING
Report: Exporting Jobs Overseas Will Help U.S
WASHINGTON — The movement of American factory jobs and white-collar work to other countries is part of a positive transformation that will enrich the U.S. economy over time, even if it causes short-term pain and dislocation, the Bush administration said today.
The embrace of foreign "outsourcing," an accelerating trend that has contributed to U.S. job losses in recent years and has become an issue in the 2004 elections, is contained in the president's annual report to Congress on the health of the U.S. economy.
"Outsourcing is just a new way of doing international trade," said Gregory Mankiw, chairman of Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, which prepared the report. "More things are tradable than were tradable in the past. And that's a good thing."
The report, which predicts that the nation will reverse a three-year employment slide by creating 2.6 million jobs in 2004, is part of a weeklong effort by the administration to highlight signs that the recovery is picking up speed. Bush's economic stewardship has become a central issue in the presidential campaign, and the White House is eager to demonstrate that his policies are producing positive results.
In his message to Congress, Bush said the economy "was strong and getting stronger," thanks in part to the administration's tax cuts and other economic policies. He said the nation had survived a stock market meltdown, terrorist attacks, corporate scandals and a global economic slump, and was finally beginning to enjoy "a mounting prosperity that will reach every corner of America."
The president repeated that message during a "conversation" on the economy with workers at SRC Automotive in Springfield, Mo., an employee-owned firm that rebuilds car engines. In one of his most fervent appeals yet to make his tax cuts permanent, he said congressional opponents are seeking to impose a broad new tax hike. "Make no mistake about it," he said.
The president's 411-page report contains a detailed diagnosis of the forces contributing to the economic slowdown that began about the time Bush occupied the White House, and a wide-ranging defense of the policies he has pursued to combat it.
It asserts that the last recession actually began in late 2000, before Bush took office, instead of in March, 2001, as certified by the official recession dating panel of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Much of the report repeats the administration's previous economic prescriptions. The Bush tax cuts must be made permanent, it says, to have their full beneficial effect on the economy. Social Security must be restructured to let workers put part of their retirement funds in private accounts, it argues, to address a long-term funding shortfall.
But the report devotes considerable attention to an issue that has become increasingly troublesome for the administration: the loss of 2.8 million manufacturing jobs since Bush took office, and critics' claims that the administration's trade policies are partly to blame.
The report acknowledges that international trade and foreign outsourcing have contributed to the job slump. But it argues that technological progress and rising productivity — the ability to produce more goods with fewer workers — have played a bigger role than trade.
Although trade expansion inevitably hurts some workers, it says, the benefits will eventually outweigh the costs as Americans are able to buy goods and services at lower costs and as jobs are created in growing sectors of the economy.
The report endorses the relatively new phenomenon of outsourcing high-end white-collar work to India and other countries, a trend that has created concern within affected professions such as computer programming and medical diagnostics.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Give it some thought...We're in a New World Order...There is a clear shift to raise the level of prosperity for 3rd World Countries by removing the industry from this Country...Look at the Europe...The wealthy countries are in a downward spiral as their industry has shifted to the extremely poor countries within Europe...Looks like a balancing act...
Remove the industrial blue collar and white collar middle class jobs from the wealthier countries and everyone's equal, as a World Leader would like all of his States to be...Sounds far fetched??? Not to me...
Just so happens I know one that would be on the first flight over under Bush's plan. And she has a Masters from a U.S. University and English without an accent!
Face it folks! Unless you are a business owner, everybody is in danger from this!
I'm not simply talking about service costs. If companies like IBM don't lower their product prices in order to compete in a world economy, they will lose market share and go out of business. Period.
The fact is prices of consumer electronics and other products have dropped dramatically, due in no small part to outsourcing.
I work in Aerospace and avionics and can tell you that not only are many of the high tech products being produced cheaper with outsourcing, but their quality is at least as good as that manufactured here in the USA. You people need to wake up. This a new world economy.
No, they don't think that way! They think it will happen to the other guy!
A lot of people are going to have big surprises if this immigration scam goes through.
I'm assuming you mean small business owners. And don't think they're going to whether the storm. Who will they sell their products/services to without a prosperous, stable middle class full of wage earners?
The whole business environment will come down like a house of cards if this continues.
How about we begin by elected people that care more about this country and it's people then they care about money, or illegals or power? I think that would be a good start.
Sure with there were some good old fashion Republicans left in this world. Today we are lead by either fools or traitors. There is no way any loyal American with half a brain can look at what is happening and say, Yea this is good for America and the American people, no freaking way.
BS. Complete and total BS. Or am I just misunderestimating Bush's brilliant strategery here?
Is the president advocating policies that send jobs to other countries and leave millions in the US out of work? While the borders are wide open and welcoming "guest workers" to take the jobs (he says) Americans don't want?
And if we just suck it up for a while it will all turn out great for us?
Not how it works.
Regardless of "remaining" competitive they would outsource. Labor is a cost. Cutting benefits the CEO. Short term good for him, long term bad for our "economy."
But not to worry, there will be plenty of junky stuff to buy down at China-Mart, which will have to be purchased again, and again a short time later because it was trash to begin with.
But who can remember Made In USA quality ?? You know, before America gradually slumped into just-above-3rd-World-status, Comrade ?
I know my HMO premiums have not come down one red cent since the provider group fired all their primary care doctors and now use PA's who consult with Indian MDs via the Internet to arrive at a preliminary diagnosis.
But I'm sure their bottom line has gone through the roof.
This makes no sense. If they go out of business there will be nothing to protect.
I never thought I'd live to see all the manufacturing and IT jobs going overseas either. The government is even outsourcing jobs. We have NO leadership in this country! I'd say it could happen. What's going to stop it?
I'm just surprised at so many americans who think they need big government to "protect" their jobs, rather than having the self confidence to know they can outcompete foriegners.
Let's buy some champagne to celebrate all the jobs we are losing, oh, wait a second, we can't afford it!
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